


I'm Just Missing You

by jollllly



Category: The Solve It Squad - Tin Can Brothers
Genre: Dealing With Loss, Fall Vibes, Friendship, Gen, Mourning, Prompt: Graveyard, Scrags misses Cluebert, starkid writes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27010192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jollllly/pseuds/jollllly
Summary: One fall evening, Scrags is missing! Luckily, the squad is pretty good at solving mysteries.Written for the starkid writes prompt "graveyard"
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	I'm Just Missing You

**Author's Note:**

> just a warning, scrags briefly mentions how cluebert died, nothing too graphic, but like, a warning for you

The van rumbled down the road, headlights illuminating their surroundings. Inside, Esther peered out the window beside her.

“Where would he run off to? That’s really strange for him, and it’s not like he has any other friends.”

“Don’t say that! That’s so mean!” Gwen protested from the front seat, turning around to shoot a shocked look at her friend.

“What? It’s true! And it’s not like any of us have other friends either.”

Gwen considered this for a moment before nodding and turning back around.

“Whoa whoa whoa, I have  _ lots _ of friends,” Keith chimed in from behind the wheel.

“Really? Name two,” Gwen challenged, eyebrow raised in disbelief.

“Uhhhhhhhhh…” Keith trailed off, unable to prove himself.

“Exactly. So where would he—”

“Wait, that’s his bike!” Esther shouted suddenly.

Keith slammed on the brake as Gwen turned to look at Esther once more.

“Really? Are you sure?”

Ether stared at her for a moment, non-verbally asking her to figure that one out for herself. 

“Ah. Yep. You’re sure.”

“Mhm,” Esther nodded before turning her attention to the driver. “Keith, pull into that parking lot.”

“Righty-o,” Keith voiced as he jerked the van into the nearly empty lot and pulled into a space.

The three friends trudged through the fallen leaves to investigate their clue.

“It’s getting darker out, I can barely see. We need to find him soon,” Gwen worried as they looked around for any indication of where he may have gone, opening her phone to use its flashlight..

“Looks like this is a job for a trusty Solve It Squad flashlight!” Keith announced as he pulled the merch item out of his pocket.

He shined the flashlight around the area. It flickered a few times, turning off and on again. After a few hits, the stream of light steadied and discovered a second clue.

“Aha! Guys, look, over there. Scrags’ helmet!”

The three friends stomped through the leaves towards the item. It lay on the ground on the edge of the parking lot, right beside the entrance of—

“A graveyard? What’s Scrags doing  _ here _ ?”

They made their way into the area, the beams of their flashlights helping to illuminate the shadows created around them. Sticking together, they made their way around the perimeter of the graveyard and happened upon the figure of their friend sitting against a large tree.

“Scrags? Are you okay?” Keith asked hesitantly, moving towards their friend.

He looked up, dazed, and smiled at the sight of his friends.

“Oh! Hey guys.” He sniffled, and even in the dim night light they could see that he had been crying.

“Are you alright?”

Scrags stood up and waved them off. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What are you doing here? I didn’t know you knew anyone buried here.”

“I, uh…” Scrags searched for words to explain himself. “I don’t.”

The three others looked at him, waiting for a further explanation.

“It’s just… I never got to bury Cluebert. There was too much blood, and his dismembered body, and I could never go back there, so…” he waved his arm in front of his face as if he could wipe the image from his memory forever. “So there’s not really anywhere I can go to like… be with him, ya know? And this graveyard is just… someplace to go.”

“Aw, sweetie, what brought this on?” Gwen asked, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“This was always Cluebert’s and my favorite time of year. So many snacks on the shelves, free candy on Halloween, and so many mysteries to solve thanks to the discounted costume prices!” Scrags sighed, a smile on his face as he remembered his old friend. “I just missed him.”

“So you came here to mourn,” Esther pieced it together, an understanding look on her face.

“Yeah. I was looking around and admiring the fall colors, the leaves on the ground, and the chill in the air, and… Then I was brought back to middle school. All the fun mysteries we solved. The hijinks we got into. The snacks we ate… I wish I had valued those times in the moment. I wish they never ended.”

A silence fell between the group as they reflected on their past. Then Esther spoke up.

“Ya know, Scrags. A lot of these memories seem to do with the Solve It Squad.”

He started to explain, “Well, yeah, it took up quite a bit of our time back then—”

“No,” she cut him off, “what I mean is… You say you come here because there’s nowhere else to go to really feel connected to Cluebert, and, well… you could always come to us. He was your dog, but we all loved Cluebert too—”

“Actually, I—”

“Shut up, Keith,” Esther and Gwen vocalized simultaneously.

“We  _ all _ loved Cluebert too,” Esther repeated, shooting a glare at Keith, “And the best way of celebrating a lost one’s life is by sharing time with those who loved them.”

“That’s… actually really sweet, Esther, thank you. I guess that’s another thing I should learn to value in the moment.”

“You’re welcome.” She shot a small smile over to him before returning to her natural expression. “And honestly I just wanna get out of this graveyard, I feel like something’s watching us, and it’s not happy, so if you could wrap up your nostalgia-fest so that we can get a move-on, that'd be great.”

Gwen giggled, “What, Esther, you scared of a gh— AHH!!” She cut her sentence with a scream as she jumped from Keith who suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, scaring her. “Jesus, Keith! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Sounds like Esther’s not the only one scared of some spooky graveyard ghosts, huh?” Keith teased, elbowing Scrags in the side to try to get him to laugh at Gwen’s fright as well.

Scrags rolled his eyes with a smile and made his way back to the entrance of the graveyard, “C’mon, guys.”

Just before reaching the van, Scrags stopped and turned back to his friends, “And thank you, guys. Honestly. It’s weird not having my best buddy around, but you three are pretty great too.”

“Heeey, come here,” Keith went in for a bro hug, which Scrags awkwardly returned.

“Awww, Scrags! You think I’m great?!” squealed Gwen, hands to her heart as if she had never heard a compliment before.

Esther rolled her eyes and pushed past towards the van once more, “Yeah, thanks, Shakespeare.”

“Let’s go home, gang. To the Posse Wagon!”

“KEITH!”

“What? It’ll catch on!”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr @ billtedrights


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